"Arcadia…"
"Hm? What's the matter, Goddess Phinis?"
Phinis suddenly called out to Arcadia, who had a smile on her face as she was watching Turbo and the others causing a racket.
When Arcadia tilted her head in confusion, Phinis glanced at Exa and asked in a low voice, "Are you sure you're not going to tell him…?"
"Yes, I don't want to cause him unnecessary worries. And it would be bad if the others were to get wind of it. Then again, I think most of them likely won't mind it, but Magmell will most certainly make a fuss. So for now, please keep it a secret between us."
"Is that so… I will respect your decision, then…" Phinis quietly agreed with a nod.
Muttering "Thanks," Arcadia gently rubbed her belly with a gentle smile on her face, but…
"—What was that about me?"
"—Whoa!? H-how did you get here!? D-did you use high-level presence concealing Magic Art or something…!?"
…Magmell suddenly appeared behind Arcadia with a smile that caused Arcadia to shiver.
Magmell then cutely puffed up her cheeks and said, "Jeez, you don't have to be that surprised. Or rather, I just approached you normally. You were simply so absorbed in your conversation that you didn't notice me."
Clearing her throat, Arcadia said, "I-I see. M-maybe I was a little tired. Thanks to you I could regain my focus. You have my thanks, Magmell."
However.
—Stare~.
"I-is there something on my face?" Arcadia flinched when Magmell suddenly brought her face close, her eyes suspiciously staring at her.
"Not at all, it's just that I feel like you're acting quite differently from your usual self, Arcadia-san."
"I-it must be just your imagination. I-I'm your usual Arcadia, the energetic legal wife!" Arcadia proudly puffed out her bountiful chest, but that clearly wasn't enough to deceive Magmell's eyes.
"…Haa," She released a small sigh and said, "You're really bad at telling lies. When you rubbed your belly with such a gentle face, I could instantly tell even if I didn't want to accept it. –You're pregnant, aren't you?"
"N-no, I…"
"There's no need to hide it. Well, if I'm being honest, I'm really vexed that you beat me to it, but then again, you've been with Exa-sama since before I met him. It's not strange if it had happened during that period."
"W-well, yeah. Sorry about this…" Arcadia averted her eyes awkwardly.
Magmell shook her head, "No, don't be. What I'm more concerned about is your reason for not telling everyone, especially Exa-sama, about this yet."
"T-that's… well, we have a big fight ahead of us… and I don't want to dampen everyone's morale, so…" Arcadia poked her index fingers together.
"Good grief, you really are a handful…" Magmell released another sigh at the sight of Arcadia, and then she raised her voice, "Exa-sama, everyone! Arcadia-san has something important to announce! Can everyone please gather over here!"
"Oh, really? Okay," Exa responded.
"H-hey, what do you think you're doing!?"
As everyone gathered, Arcadia pressed Magmell.
Magmell then opened her mouth, "Listen here, Arcadia-san," and said, "Precisely because we have a big fight ahead of us that you have to make sure to convey such things. I've seen many people in Algren regretfully departed from this world without being able to convey the things they wished to convey."
"Magmell…"
"Since you have the opportunity, you mustn'tlet it go to waste."
"…I guess… you're right."
"Yes. Besides, the news will surely boost everyone's morale, not the other way around. After all, it makes even me want to quickly beat that saint so that I can catch up with you."
"Mhm, I've got it. Thank you, Magmell. You really are a good woman." Arcadia smiled softly.
"O-of course, I am. Just make sure you remember that you 'owe' me this favor, all right? I'll definitely ask you to pay it back in the future." Magmell said embarrassedly.
"Yeah, I'll never forget it." After giving Magmell a vigorous nod, Arcadia turned to face the others.
『?』
As they gave her looks of puzzlement, Arcadia told them everything so that she didn't have any regret no matter what might happen later.